


Your absence has gone through me

by crookedspoon



Series: Exchange Fics [76]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Frottage, Gentle Sex, Kissing, M/M, No Tentacle Sex, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: Jason tells himself that he should let Dick rest. That he should let him sleep undisturbed for however long he needs. But what Dick needs more than sleep right now is Jason.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Series: Exchange Fics [76]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/51139
Comments: 15
Kudos: 103
Collections: Smut 4 Smut 2020





	Your absence has gone through me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kameiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kameiko/gifts).



> Ho Kameiko! Loved your requests. Hope you don't mind me adding tentacles to this fic. I promise they are only there to support and cuddle!

Jason tells himself that he should let Dick rest. That he should let him sleep undisturbed for however long he needs. It's why he's turned off the spray a while ago, so he could get Dick out of the shower and tucked into bed.

He should hurry them along. The water is cooling on their skin, running down their arms, and dripping off the ends of their hair, while the condensing air is raising goosebumps down the length of their bodies. Dick is shivering against the cold tiles, for fuck's sake, and Jason is the only thing that's keeping him upright. That's how weak Dick is.

So it's up to Jason to maneuver Dick safely. And he will. He's going to. Just as soon as Dick stops kissing him like he's the oxygen in his lungs. It makes _Jason_ weak, it makes his knees shake with the need to sink to the floor and worship Dick, but if he answered that need, they'd both end up with their asses on the floor. He can't have that. 

"Jason," Dick moans again, and it shoots through Jason like the first time, like every other time, because Dick is here, Dick is safe, and Jason's heart is unclenching like a fist with that knowledge.

It's no surprise that he'd be loath to let Dick go even for a second. What else _would_ he be doing if not stay as close to him as possible for as long as Dick can tolerate it?

And going by the way Dick is clinging to Jason himself, he doesn't want Jason to let go any time soon either, no matter how much better off they'd both be lying down somewhere soft.

Jason hasn't had a good night's sleep since Dick's disappearance and he knows it makes him useless in the field, but he'd had to stay on the case, had to keep searching, to keep fighting. The idea is that as long as he keeps going, there's a chance. As soon as he gives in – to his doubts, body's demands for rest, anything – he may as well have lost Dick. And that can't happen.

It can never happen.

Jason kisses him deeper, soaking in the pain from Dick's hold in his hair, and presses against Dick one last time. Dick exhales sharply through his nose, but otherwise doesn't react to what must be discomfort to him. His ribs are mottled with bruises, his skin an unhealthy yellow in the bright bathroom lights, exhaustion heavy in every line of his body, and yet he doesn't push Jason away. In fact, he keeps pulling him closer on his own.

As much as Jason wants to continue caressing Dick, making out with him, and feeling his chest rise and fall, he feels guilty for keeping him from his well-deserved rest. The least he should do is wrap him up warmly.

He leans back slightly, releasing the heat trapped between them and drawing a noise of protest from Dick.

Jason's throat is tight. He can't voice any words of comfort or reassurance. He can only communicate his intentions through touch and hope they come through clear enough.

He rubs Dick's arms, takes his hands, and leads the way out of the shower, stepping carefully onto the mat in front of it and supporting Dick's weight as he lifts first one leg, then the other. These laborious movements are difficult to witness from someone who is motion personified, who expresses himself through his whole body.

It's a shock, then, to see him slip and not be able to catch himself. In that one frozen moment in which Jason is unable to react, all he can do is watch it happen.

Watch how his tentacles pop out of him to do what he can't.

One of them whips around Dick's waist – around a swathe of skin that is not discolored by underlying injuries, Jason notes – and two under his shoulders to brace his weight. Jason nearly stumbles from the sudden jolt, but manages not to trip.

Dick sucks in a sharp breath – whether from surprise or from pain, Jason can't say. He lifts his head to fixate Jason with a stare that cracks through Jason's defenses. Dick knows the lengths Jason goes to to hide the aberrant nature of his body. That he can sprout tentacles at will – and sometimes without it, too. Dick himself has never made a secret about his fetish for them, disregarding the fact that they're too dangerous, that Jason can't always control them. They're like an alien parasite that lives inside his skin and borrows it sometimes. Jason never wants to take his chances with them.

But Dick finds them fascinating, for some reason. Hot, even. He likes how soft they are, how strong, and how they undulate beneath his fingers. He loves to brush his fingers over them every chance he gets. Perhaps he especially loves what it does to Jason every time.

They're staring at each other as Jason's tentacles set Dick back on his feet.

After a shaky inhale and exhale, Dick licks his lips and runs his palm along the tentacle around his waist. The deliberate touch makes Jason quiver. It's like the nerve endings in his tentacles are directly connected to those in his cock, because it's flexing against his abdomen from the sensation.

Dick doesn't take his dark eyes off of Jason's stiff cock as he closes the gap between them with the support of Jason's tentacles.

"Jason..." Dick breathes and throws himself into his arms. "I need you."

Dick is slippery but Jason folds him against his chest as they kiss again. His tentacles, too, wrap securely around him.

"Take me to bed," Dick whispers against Jason's lips, fingers digging into his shoulder blades.

"Anything," Jason whispers back as he picks up a bath towel with one of his tentacles. "Anything you need."

He means it. He'd break every bone in his body if it somehow helped Dick. 

Carefully, he pats Dick dry, trying not to put too much pressure on his bruises. Dick is teetering on his feet and steadies himself with his hands on Jason's shoulder. Jason tries to dry them both off as fast as possible without hurting Dick, and yet he can't help but kiss the tops of Dick's thighs as he's kneeling before him. Under different circumstances, Jason might have jumped at the opportunity to rub his face against Dick's genitals, to run the flat of his tongue up his erect cock, and to take it in his mouth to make Dick feel good.

Under these circumstances, he just throws their towels onto the laundry hamper in the corner and picks Dick up with the help of his tentacles. Extra limbs do have their uses sometimes. They make throwing the covers to the side and slipping between them with Dick easier.

Dick winces despite the care his tentacles take to let him down; they wouldn't have disturbed a baby if they'd placed it in its crib.

"I'm okay," he says quickly when he notices Jason hesitate. "Please just touch me. I need to feel you."

Jason just nods. His mouth is dry. Dick's damp hair is falling away from his forehead and it makes his face look so open, so vulnerable. There's a tension around his eyes that speaks of pain and discomfort, but also of stubbornness and determination. Jason's heart is tugged in all directions. It hurts him to see like this, but at the same time he's overflowing with relief to have Dick back at all, and in one piece.

Jason pins Dick's hands with his own, palm to palm, as he lowers himself down to pick up where they left off before. Dick moans into the kiss as soon as their lips touch, clearly eager for more. He rolls his bottom half upward to meet Jason's, as though inviting him to lie down on top of Dick and let more of their skin touch. Until now, Jason has been holding himself somewhat awkwardly on his tentacles, to keep his weight off of Dick, but now that Dick's cock has rubbed against his, he needs more friction.

Dick's knees are splayed open just far enough to accommodate Jason's legs between them. Vaguely, Jason feels like an inconsiderate brute for pushing Dick's thighs farther apart so he can slot their hips together, so when Dick's loose grip on Jason's hands turns crushing and he makes what sounds like a pained noise, Jason stills.

"No," Dick says. "Please don't stop, Jason."

"You sure?"

Dick screws his eyes shut and nods jerkily. "I'm sorry I'm putting this on you, but I need you. So much."

"Don't be—" Jason swallows. "Don't be sorry. I'm here for you. Tell me what you need."

"Will you... will you cover me? I want to feel you on every inch of my skin."

Jason is pretty much covering all of Dick already. Well, the top of Dick's body anyway.

"You mean like this?" Jason asks and lets one of his tentacles wind around their arms like a ribbon until the tip comes to rest on the back of Dick's hand.

Dick exhales a shaky breath and licks his lips. He's trembling slightly. 

"Exactly like this."

Not one to argue when the situation calls for action, Jason wraps the rest of their arms and legs with tentacle-ribbons. Now is not the time to feel uncomfortable about them. If this is what Dick needs, Jason will give it to him.

Dick remains slack-jawed throughout the entire procedure although his eyes widen a little. They're shining as if with unshed tears and Jason kisses his cheek, nuzzling him. He has no idea what Dick has been through while he was missing and it kills him not to know, but he can't pry. Dick has to decide whether or not he wants to share, and if Jason is honest with himself, a part of him is afraid that he'd want to go back to not knowing once he finds out what happened.

With a bit of creative effort, Jason wraps more of his appendages around Dick's back, spinning him into a cocoon of tentacles. And when there's nowhere else for Dick to turn, he kisses him again, slow and deep. He grinds against him the same way, rolling his hips and rubbing their twitching erections against each other.

Steadily, a quiver takes hold of Dick's entire body and his breath comes in quiet gasps. Jason trusts that he's not hurting Dick because Dick keeps straining further against him, instead of away. But, Jason keeps the pace languid, his thrusts shallow, just to be on the safe side.

Dick still somehow manages to come from the friction of their sweat-damp skin alone, by writhing and arching into Jason's full-body embrace. He didn't need to direct Jason in any way at all. As if it really took nothing more than being held. Jason feels his warm release spatter both of their stomachs and he continues rocking against the crease of Dick's thighs until he, too, adds to the mess.

It takes him a moment to notice how Dick's breathing has evened out over the loudness of his own. That's good. Dick needs his rest.

Jason kisses Dick's slippery forehead and eases his hold as much as he can. His sucker cups stick to Dick's skin and the last thing Jason wants to do is jostle him awake by pulling them off. Doing it too quickly might hurt and being too slow about it is going to tickle.

As carefully as he can, Jason rolls himself onto his back, with Dick attached to his front like a little joey or something. That way, he won't crush Dick in his sleep. 

Sleep. It feels like a strange concept after running on fumes so long and pushing through the exhaustion again and again. His mind seems to have yet to catch up with the fact that Dick is safe, even if his body is already relaxing against him.

Not that it matters. So what if he's going to startle awake every five minutes thinking he can't afford to rest because Dick is still out there? As long as he wakes to find Dick in his arms, everything's all right. Jason doesn't need to know any more than that.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Separation" by W. S. Merwin.


End file.
